Staged for growth at The Lowry

The trust that operates the Lowry theatre and galleries on Salford Quays increased revenues in 2010, thanks to improved ticket sales.

The directors of the Lowry Centre Trust are also hopeful is will remain cash positive in 2011, despite the end of its three-year stream of Arts Council funding.

The trust’s latest accounts, covering the year to March 31, 2010, claim that 800,000 visited the Lowry’s theatres and galleries during the year, with more than 470,000 of those buying tickets to the 260 shows in its three theatre spaces.

The best performing of those was the 2009 Christmas show, White Christmas, which generated more than £2m in ticket sales.

Revenue from its theatre activities grew from £7.5m in 2009, to £8.9m in 2010, while its galleries brought in £497,000, up £7,000 from the previous year. Income from commercial trading activities fell, however, from £4.1m to £3.9m.

The total funds held by the trust dipped to £62m, compared to £65m in 2009.

Grants from the Arts Council and Salford City Council made up 12 per cent of the trust’s overall funding.

The trust employs 293 staff with a wage bill of £4.2m. The highest-paid director, Julia Fawcett, received a salary of £157,000 - a pay cut of £10,000.

The Lowry Theatre will be home to the Manchester Library Theatre Company for three months over the autumn while the Central Library is refurbished, which will include performances of Arcadia and A Christmas Carol.

Opera North will also visit the theatres twice in 2011, including performances of Carmen and Pinocchio, and the Royal Ballet will be putting on a small scale performance, Step by Step.

The galleries hosted two major exhibitions alongside the rotating LS Lowry collections. One was a new commission from Spencer Tunick called Everyday People, comprising eight photographs taken on the streets of Salford and Manchester. It ran from June to September.

The firm that owns the theatre, The Lowry Centre Ltd, made a profit of £169,000 for the year, up from £41,000 in 2009., as ticket sales grew by 17 per cent. The theatre’s in-house ticket firm, Quaytickets, saw annual sales grow by 24 per cent.